to take away from analysts? the my is growing, but very slowly. today both sides try to use the numbers to claim their message is the right one for the future of our country. steve handelsman is live in washington, d.c. with the latest on the race with 95 hours to go until the first polls close. good evening. >> reporter: 95, well that. >> can't spin that number. but both sides are spinning the unemployment number of 7.9, disagreeing about the significance of it. but agreeing oddly, they don't agree on much, especially this close to the end, on the importance of the number 18, the electoral votes of ohio that both candidates badly need. so close to the end, you know they're in ohio. mitt romney in etna. >> i'm counting on you. >> president obama in hilliard, caking credit for the auto bailout. >> in toledo, where chrysler is add mortgage than a thousand new jobs on a second shift, not in china, right here in ohio.

>> reporter: it paid off for him, a two-point lead in ohio polls. >> this morning we learned the companies hired more workers in october than at any time in the last eight months. >> reporter: it's the last jobs report before the vote. 7.9% unemployment, slightly worse. 171,000 new jobs, better than expected, but not great. >> 300,000 really is where we want to be relative to where we were last spring. this is much better. >> reporter: the president went to springfield, ohio, ticking off more than he says is better. >> housing starts are on the rise. we're less depend on foreign oil than any time in the last 20 years. >> reporter: on his way to ohio, romney stopped in wisconsin where he is polling five points behind. >> can obama promise to do so very much, but he has fallen so very short. >> reporter: he pledged unemployment down to 5% by now. >> today we learned it's

actually 7.9%. unemployment is higher today than when barack obama took office. think of that. >> reporter: governor romney has two stops in ohio today. president obama three. and they'll both be back before tuesday. both candidates campaigning as if they believe that any letup and they'll lose ohio and lose the election. live from washington, i'm steve handelsman, nbc bay area news. raj? >> steve, thank you. here in california now, a new field poll is out on prop 34 which would end the death penalty. the poll finds that 45% of likely voters support stopping executions. 38% oppose the idea. 17% are undecided. the poll also finds that support for prop 34 is increasing, up four points since last month. and the voters are increasingly swayed by the costs of maintaining death row and all the court appeals that go with it.

nbc by area's susan shaw will have a look at both sides of prop 34 in our 6:00 newscast. and on election night, we have extensive local coverage on air and on line. nbcbayarea.com. we will be streaming results, interviews, and analysis on our website and our mobile application. just go to the app store for apple and android devices and search nbc bay area. it could be a game changer for school leaders everywhere, a principal facing jail time after one of her teachers is charged with sexual abusing a student. marianne favro is live in san jose with the latest for us. marianne, this case is now in the hands of the jury. >> reporter: that's right. the jury received the case late this morning. and so far there is no verdict. but some say regardless of the outcome, this case is going to change the way that local schools handle any reports of abuse. she was a principal here at o.b. whaley elementary school in san jose.

now lyn vijayendran shown here in a video off a social website faces six months in jail if a jury finds her of fating to report alleged child abuse. the abuse happened in october of last year. police later arrested craig chandler. he is charged with committing lewd and lascivious acts on five children and is now awaiting trial. this is only the second time in 20 years santa clara prosecutors have gone after a local educator for not reporting suspected abuse. >> her response was not to do anything. she did speak with mr. chandler and she kind of conducted her own investigation and determined that there was nothing to be done. >> reporter: the principal took notes while interviews the 8-year-old girl. the girl told her chandler blindfolded her while she was alone with him in a classroom and asked her to open her legs. she also reported chandler put something in her mouth and wiggled her body back and forth. attorney eric geffon says a lot

of other people knew about his behavior and also didn't believe anything sexual was going on. he also said we are confident when all the evidence is examined ms. vijayendran will be cleared of any wrongdoing. alberta faust who works with abused children says regardless of the verdict, the case is sending a message to those required to report abuse. >> the fact that they're pure suing it will bring this up to the attention of other administrators that they need to take this seriously, and that they need to train their stuff. and when they need to report and what things to look for. >> reporter: she says that heightened awareness may spare other children from abuse. and another child reported being abused by chandler in the same way just three months after the first incident was reported to the principal. in san jose, marianne favro, nbc bay area news. >> marianne, thank you. a sharp and bitter reaction tonight after a local school district suggested a former student is partly to blame for

being sexual abused by two teachers. kristen says she was sexual abused by two teachers at joaquin moraga intermediate school in the 1990s. one teacher has since died. the other is serving prison time. she is suing the district after a court filing said her actions made her responsible for what happened. today the moraga school district issued a statement saying that the claim was a potential response to her demands for millions of dollars in damages. they went on to say, quote, the district raised nine possible arguments that might be used in court. ms. cunane and the media have seized on one and overexaggerated its importance. as this case moved forward, the district will decide if any of these areas might not be applicable. mother nature may have forgotten it's november. take a look outside with our nbc bay area high definition skycam network, hazy and warm today. chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is here to tell us how long will it last. jeff? >> well we are in for this

unusual stretch of heat here that could be in place for the next three to maybe each five days. we have some high level cloud cover moving in from the storm system to the north. it is producing some showers very close to the bay area. but as that doppler radar scans around, we are currently dry from santa rosa to san jose. we expect that dry weather to stay in place for your weekend as this cold front will break up as it gets closer to the west coast. so with high pressure building, in not only warm air, offshore winds, potential mid-80s in that seven-day forecast, and also near record-setting temperatures. we also want to bring your attention to the east coast. a lot of this area, of course, still reels from the deadly hurricane sandy storm, which has devastated a lot of that northeastern coastline that remains paralyzed. now they have another storm system on the way for next week some time on wednesday into thursday where they could get 1 to 2 inches of additional rainfall, which would mean more flooding concerns. and this could also bring wind

20 to 40 miles per hour and keep plenty of those power concerns in places we know many communities continue to be paralyzed from this storm system in the northeast. now we want to join nbc's jay gray who is in atlantic city where that cleanup continues. we hear that a big decision was just made in new york city? >> reporter: yeah, in fact, jeff, they decided after days of controversy to now cancel the new york city marathon this weekend, deciding it's a time to stop, stay, and help instead of run in the city. you can see what is left of an older part of the boardwalk behind me here in atlantic city. so many communities from lower manhattan through here in atlantic city, up and down the east coast, all struggling, trying to find some way to come back right now. heavy equipment helps to steer the difficult recovery. power lines are slowly going back up. but many places are still overmatch bird the devastation sandleft behind. >> this is well beyond what any of us ever imagined. >> reporter: the long road to

recovery now literally lined with hundreds of thousands struggling to survive. the lines stretch for blocks if you're lucky, but more often for miles. people waiting in traffic or for a ride on the limited public transportation available. hundreds hanging out just to charge their phones. >> don't be difficult, man. >> reporter: but the longest and most contentious lines stretch from the few stations that still have fuel. relief could be on the way. tankers are now moving back into new york harbor. but help has been much harder to find for many on staten island. >> no heat. we have no power. >> reporter: and hope is quickly fading as well. >> we have bodies being removed up the block. we are devastated here. >> reporter: devastation that after days of controversy pushed maisch michael bloomberg to reverse an earlier decision and cancel the new york city marathon. so many instead continuing their focus on the difficult race to recover.

and most now understanding now that the shock has worn off that that race is going to take months, if not more than a year. live in atlantic city, i'm jay gray. janelle, back to you. >> thank you so much. in just about three hours from now, nbc will be showing a telethon. it will feature several performances including jon bon jovi, a new jersey native. she saw the devastation while in london and flew back home to view the damage in person. >> to see your hometown devastated like this, and people that i grew up with, my grammer school turned into a shelter. people's homes gone and them saying to me we are now homeless. >> another new jersey native, bruce springsteen will also be performing tonight as well as long island's billy joel and singers sting and christina aguilera. the concert will air at 8:00 p.m. right here on nbc bay area. all money raised will go to the american red cross relief efforts for hurricane sandy. help is on the way. the chp is now in oakland,

hoping to stop the deadly violence. a smaller device gets a big reception today. also, we want to update you on the traffic mess in the east bay. our nbc chopper over the scene after that big rig accident in the 11:00 a.m. hour. this is 680 in pleasanton at the stone ridge exit. northbound lanes are wide open now, but the southbound lanes, 680 southbound in pleasanton still very sluggish after that big rig accident. right now the left lanes remain closed. we're back in a moment. [ female announcer ] pillsbury crescents

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a big release for a small tablet and plenty of bay area shoppers showed up for the party. nbc's tech reporter scott budman always a good friend to have in the newsroom because we get to play with all the devices he has. what do you have on this friday? >> reporter: as advertised, the apple ipad mini very much like

the ipad in what it does, but it's smaller in size and a bit small enterprise. not a revolutionary change, but enough to bring plenty of bay area customers into stores. the good news, these apple fans didn't have to camp out to get their hand on the new ipad mini. on the other hand, sales were still very brisk, and bay area apple stores nearly sold out by mid afternoon. >> my initial impression are that the graphics are really bright and clear. so we were just checking out facetime. and it seems like it's more crisp than the one i have right now. >> reporter: we heard that a lot today. the mini is a little more this, a little better than that. nothing earth shattering, which along with the ease of shopping online means no long lines. but still plenty of interested shoppers. >> have i started to do all my newspapers, magazines, books on my technology. but i'm finding that the iphone, the text is getting smaller and

smaller. and the ipad, i like to read in bed, and it's a little too clumsy and i drop it. so this to me is the perfect size. >> reporter: inside apple's newest store, it is clear. the company has another hilt on its hands. maybe not a huge hit, but at least a mini one. >> all right. we'll let you guys check it out. this is it. i know you guys have played with the regular ipad this starts at $345. >> i railroad played in the newsroom. >> $345 which is ly less than the ipad, but it's still more than the kindle. it's priced in there. all the apps will work on there. it's pretty much a full functional ipad. but it's smaller. >> are we that spoiled that we now need a smaller ipad? >> byron's response is, no we don't need it. but it's interesting. a lot of people that were checking it out had not bought an ipad yet and said this could be my entry because it's a little bit less expensive. and it is so popular that i'm told there is a two-week backlog if you order it online which is

how most of us shop for holiday shopping. if you want this under your tree, you have to order it probably by the first week of december. >> and for a woman it will fit in your purse. >> so much more handy. mom, you're a lucky woman. >> thanks, scott. >> you bet. the chp is patrolling the streets of oakland as of this morning following an order from jerry brown. they started patrolling as of last night. chp officers are working with oakland police to increase patrols in high crime areas to help stop violent crime. so far this year oakland has 108 homicides. and chp has worked with oakland police before. you might recall between 2007 and 2010, the program, though ended because of a lack of funding. this latest partnership will last for at least three months. san francisco's public transit is back to normal tonight after a muni fatality tied up the system for hours this morning. service was shut down for nearly three hours between the embarcadero and montgomery stations when a man was struck and killed in the tunnel by a

light rail vehicle. during the disruption, bart accepted muni passes and bridges were set up. but there was plenty of confusion. >> they told me to go upstairs and take the shuttle. hopefully i'm not plate late for work. >> how long have you been looking for shuttle? >> the last ten minutes. >> reporter: have you seen one yet? >> no. >> no word on why the trespasser was in the tunnel. the operator of the muni vehicle has been placed on nondriving status pending an investigation. now to an nbc bay area follow-up. last-minute talks could stop a potential strike at 32 grocery stores across the bay area. workers at raleys and nob hill stores will strike on sunday morning if they cannot reach a deal and a new contract. negotiation started before lunch today in san francisco. they say they're fighting for retiree health care. now if a strike does happen, those 32 locations in the bay area would be affected. raleys has said it would keep as many stores open as possible.

it would be the first strike in the supermarket chain's 80-year history. in less than an hour, cal will host its first friday night football game at the new memorial stadium. the city of berkeley is telling people to take public transit. several streets around the campus are already closed. the same closures happened during saturday's game. but tonight's game is during rush hour, which means more people on the roads overall there will be free shuttles from the rockridge bart station and the amtrak station. cal is playing the washington huskies. kickoff is at 6:00 p.m. a big night for the golden bares and a big weekend for the raiders. the raiders asked their fans and the fans came through. the team needed to sell 85% of the tickets to its home games at the coliseum in order to ensure there is no tv blackout. as of this morning the team was more than 10,000 tickets short. the nfl gave them a one-day extension and it worked. the raiders and buccaneers game will be televised because they have sold enough tickets. it will be televised locally on sunday afternoon. should it be a nice day.

let's check with jeff ranieri. >> that's right. weather is going to continue to improve from here on out. but we are so close to getting some rainfall at this hour. we have this storm system that is moving right across northern california with some cloud cover and also some rainfall that will be up near eureka. for us in the bay area we are expecting to stay dry. it's cool out here, but a little warmer than what we had yesterday. 62346 santa rosa. 68 in livermore, and also currently 62346 gilroy. get ready because temperatures are going to be warming up quite a bit. let's get a look as we hit 70 in livermore for today. we're going to be soaring up to 84 by monday in the east bay. also san jose from 66 today to an expected 83 as we head into monday's forecast. and that could even be good enough to set a new record. we're forecasting 883 on monday. that old record 82. and take a look at this. 1901 was the last time it will have been that hot for this time of the year. so it's been a while. let's take you outside of that live hd sky camera network.

from emeryville looking towards san francisco, it's not the fog picture, but mid and high level cloud cover from the system we showed you offshore. and down into san jose, we're also dealing with the clouds. but we do expect to stay dry for tonight. let's get a look. and what we have happening is the storm system that is producing that cloud cover. it's wrapped up with a ton of cold air. but all of that is going to get pushed right off to the north with high pressure building in from the south. and we do think it's going to keep warm weather in here not only for the next 48 hours, but maybe for the next three to even five days. so for tomorrow, a little bit of fog to start, and then throughout sunday, that's when we'll start to approach record-setting heat. we'll have a little cloud cover near the coastline. the north bay to start off on your saturday. then we'll get in on plenty of sunshine by saturday afternoon. and that's going to continue right into sunday, and also for monday's forecast. as far as tonight goes, with a little bit of cloud cover, not going to be as cold as it was last night. 51 in los gatos. 51 in oakland. 46 in santa rosa and 52 in san

rafael. daytime highs should top out warmer in the south bay with plenty of low to mid-70s. one of the hottest spots should be back here towards walnut creek with 74. 77 in livermore and 77 in fairfield. for san francisco, well, we're going to get close to 70, but not quite there. 72 in richmond. 75 in santa rosa, and 70 in san mateo. on your three-day forecast, we have numbers warming up sunday and monday into the low to mid-80s inland. also mid-70s expected at the coastline with some dryer offshore winds. and for voting day, on tuesday, sunny skies and also mid-80s. then by thursday a chance of showers and into next friday we also have wind and rain coming pack with temperatures in the 60s. so a lot colder and another storm system coming our way next week. but most importantly, the weekend looks awesome. >> enjoy it while you can. >> and it's friday. >> it feels good. thanks.

>> your chance to see a giants superstar is coming up this weekend. learn where and when, next.

okay. you remember back in 2010 it was brian wilson, tim lincecum and freddy sanchez who worked the top show circuit. this time around a new pair of giants with the rock star status. >> please welcome sergio romo, barry zito! >> the giant pitchers were greeted by an enthusiastic audience on "the tonight show," along with the bearded jamie lee curtis. barry, and sergio romo talked about six elimination games on their way to the world series. >> unbelievable ride, just to be a part of it. i mean the team, what we did is unreal. we were one game away from going home. >> right. >> and not one of my teammates was ready to go home. what a ride. >> it was a great ride. did they bring the confetti with them down to burbank? leno also asked romo about the romo bomb photos where he sneex

up behind reporters in the dugout. surprise head hasn't done it to me yet. he also did some romo bombs for leno last night. and giants fans will have a chance to salute angel pagan. the outfielder will be at the macy's men's store in union square at 11:00 a.m. he'll be meeting with fans and signing some autographs. the first 250 fans to buy giants merchandise will get an autograph. we'll be right back.

weekend is here. let's take a look. >> it is. it's my duty to remind folks the time change. >> oh, gosh. >> it's happening on sunday. fall back. set those clocks back one hour late saturday night. so you're not late anywhere. and then we a looking at sunny weather next tuesday for election day. and another storm next week on friday. so doing pretty good there for the rainfall. >> perfect. >> a bonus hour of sleep. >> good night.

this is hayden. that's elizabeth. and that's skyler... and his mom, nancy. they're just a few of the californians who took it on themselves to send you a message about what they need to restore years of cuts to their schools. prop thirty-eight. thirty-eight raises billions in new revenue - bypasses sacramento and sends every k through 12 dollar straight to our local schools... every school. for them. for all of us. vote yes on thirty-eight.